Tricia Shulist

“I Hate The Stupid Weather!” by Tricia Shulist

I HATE THIS STUPID WEATHER! Move to the city, they said. You’ll love the city, they said. There’s soooo much to do in the city, they said. These thoughts scrolled through my brain, as I trudged down the street. It’s literally hotter than hell out, and the city is doing its best, trapping all the heat under its invisible heat dome. All that black asphalt, all those impermeable surfaces—chef’s kiss—all the heat is trapped, all the time, all over the city. No escape. Gross. I hate it. A lot. I don’t ev...

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“You Said Gratitude, So Gratitude It Is!” by Tricia Shulist

YOU SAID GRATITUDE, SO GRATITUDE IT IS! I looked across the desk at the woman perusing the file in front of her.  My file. She lightly tapped her pen on the desktop as she read, the occasional “hmmm” filling the quiet of the room.  Finally, after about a year of sitting there waiting, she looked up at me. “Well, Catherine, it seems that you have a bit of a problem with anger,” she said. I remained silent. She tilted her head ever-so slightly, looking at me over the top of her stupid half-glasses—the school-marm/librarian vib...

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“R-E-S-P-E-C-T” by Tricia Shulist

R-E-S-P-E-C-T We were sitting in the family room, much the same as any night. Just a normal Wednesday evening. Dinner was done, dishes in the dishwasher, the kitchen tidied up. The television was off, and we were each sitting in our chairs, occupying ourselves with our devices. Or so I thought.   I looked over at Ronin. Usually, he was absorbed in is iPad—reading a book, checking out the newsfeed, maybe playing a game. That man could concentrate to exclusion of all else. But not tonight—he kept glancing at me ...

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“One For All, All For One” by Tricia Shulist

ONE FOR ALL, ALL FOR ONE “Thanks, Sweetie. That’s a big help.” “My pleasure, as always.” Jeremy watched as his parents smiled sweetly at each other, and felt his own stomach lurch in response. How can they go on with this charade? he thought. Don’t they know what it was doing to those around them? Pretending to be in love? Always kissing and being gross? The hate each other, and everyone knows it! His dad gave his mom a quick side hug, and kissed the top of her head. Oh, the humanity. He walked into the kitchen wh...

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“Granddad's Camera” by Tricia Shulist

GRANDDAD’S CAMERA “Excuse me, but I think I was here first.” I looked at the young man who had just arrived and, without even asking, set up right beside me—all his gear cheek-by-jowl to mine And, he put his tripod leg in my shooting zone. He looked up at me. “What?” He looked confused. I pointed to the ground where his tripod leg was directly under my camera.  “Your leg is in my shooting zone.” He looked down at his own, human legs. “What” More confusion. I tried not to purse my lips, and spoke slowly. “Your tripod ...

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“Much Ado About Nothing” by Tricia Shulist

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING “NOTHING is missing!” “Are you sure?” “Yes!” “We’ll have to tell the others.” ABSOLUTELY and EXCLAMATION MARK looked at each other, worried. A missing word was unheard of, especially one as popular as NOTHING. Both ABSOLUTELY and EXCLAMATION MARK had worked a lot with NOTHING recently. In particular EXCLAMATION MARK. Since the advent of texting EXCLAMATION MARK had been super busy, “LOL!!!” “OMG!!!” But “NOTHING!” was still a top-ten user for EXCLAMATION MARK, especially with teens and angry w...

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“So Angry” by Tricia Shulist

SO ANGRY Lydia walked around the kitchen, slamming the doors on the cupboards with enough force to rattle the dishes within, muttering to herself. “How many people live in this house?" she groused.  "Why is it that I’m the only one who can manage to shut a damn cupboard door!” She grabbed a mug and poured herself a coffee. She leaned against the counter, trying to get her breathing under control.   She was really pissed. But why? Was it really just the fact that neither of her children had mastered the intricate ...

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“The Fair” by Tricia Shulist

THE FAIR “So, doth m’lady come here often?” Jeremy smiled at his booth mate, Veronica. “Ha ha! Very funny.” They were manning a booth at a Regency Fair, selling locally brewed mead, a fermented honey drink popular during the Regency. Even though it was barely noon, their booth had been doing a brisk business. Seemed that the guests needed to get ye olde drink on early. Veronica and Jeremy were old hands at Renaissence Fairs. But this was the first time either one of them had participated in a Regency Fair. These...

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“Missing Her Life” by Tricia Shulist

MISSNG HER LIFE “I’m not sure that you are in the here and now.” Yolanda opened her eyes, and looked up at Jen, her yoga instructor.   Guilty, but she’d never admit it. “Why do you say that?” she asked Jen. “Well, because your face is all screwed up. Like this,” She twisted her mouth to the side, “And you’re tapping out some sort of internal Morse code with your fingers.” Yolanda sighed and sat up. “But it’s hard.” She had hired Jen to give her private yoga lessons at home. That way, she figured, she would be ...

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“Of Stalks and Bonds” by Tricia Shulist

OF STALKS AND BONDS. It was late when I stepped off the bus. It had been a long day, an even longer night, and I was ready for it to be over. I looked around, sighed, and started the trek home. It was only three blocks, but it might as well have been three miles. I was exhausted, and I wasn’t sure that I could make it all the way home. I admonished myself for being so “budget conscious” and not ordering an Uber or grabbing a cab. But, at the time it seemed like an extravagance, and I’d felt fine. It wasn’t...

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“The Magic Library” by Tricia Shulist

THE MAGIC LIBRARY “So, what is it?” Jenna asked looking at the object in Noah’ hands. Noah shook his head, slightly.  “I’m not sure,” he said, “I think it’s a diary or something.”   He fanned through the pages, then opened the cover. “It belonged to someone named Benj Thomas.” He continued reading the first page. “The first date is August 14, 1989.” He turned the book towards Jenna, who read the front page. “Benji Thomas … why do I know that name?” Noah shook his head. “I have no idea.” Jenna took out her...

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“Spill The Tea” by Tricia Shulist

SPILL THE TEA Ariel loved the summer. Her mom was home from work—she was a teacher—and they got to spend all their time together. And they went out to cool places—the Children’s Museum, the park, Mom and Toddler program, the library, and her favourite—Charlotte’s house! Like today! Charlotte was Mommy’s best friend. They’d known each other forever—at least that’s what Mommy said. Ariel knew that forever was a long time, which made her wonder how old Mommy really was. Charlotte and Mommy had gone to school toge...

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“Lost Without Elliot” by Tricia Shulist

Submitted to Contest #249

LOST WITHOUT ELLIOT “You have got to be kidding me!” Elle looked out at the lake. She was stopped at the mouth of a boat ramp. It was supposed to be a road. There was not supposed to be a lake. Slamming both her palms on the steering wheel, she swung her gaze to her phone. “You are a piece of crap!” She smacked the steering wheel again, and threw herself back in her seat.   What if I hadn’t seen the light glint off the water? What then? What if—and it's a good thing I didn’t—I had trusted the GPS in my P.O...

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“Paradise Lost” by Tricia Shulist

PARADISE LOST “Where is he?” I asked. “Who?” replied Ramey. “Paradise.” He looked around, as if just noticing that our 70 pound Sulcata tortoise, Paradise, wasn’t where he was supposed to be. “I have no idea.” I looked at him horrified, worst case scenarios spinning through my head. “I asked you to bring him in, this morning before I left for work.” I walked to the back door, scanning the yard. Ramey looked confused. “You did?” “I did. You were playing video games. You said you would as soon as you beat the level.” “I d...

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“Our Bucket List” by Tricia Shulist

OUR BUCKET LIST I looked at the horse. The horse looked at me. I looked at the paper in my hand. Sign up for horseback riding lessons. Technically, I had signed up for the horseback riding lessons. I just hadn’t actually gotten on the horse. Yet. My pedantic soul said that I had fulfilled my obligation, but in all fairness I knew that just signing up and not riding, would be a cop-out. “Okay, let’s do this!” ***** When Emile and I had decided that horseback riding lessons were a thing, we’d been staying at a cabi...

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